A FILM REVIEW OF ''THE HIGHWAYMEN" (2019)

"Blind Side" director John Lee Hancock's authentic, Depression Era, road-trip, manhunt thriller "The Highwaymen," (*** OUT OF ****) co-starring Oscar-winning actor Kevin Costner and Oscar-nominated Woody Harrelson, serves as the flip side of the classic Warner Brothers' gangster epic "Bonnie & Clyde" (1967), with Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty. Told from the perspective of the two seasoned manhunters who tracked down the bloodthirsty young Texas couple, "The Highwaymen" confines their quarry Bonnie & Clyde to the periphery of the mayhem, out-of-the-limelight, depicting them in either far-off shots or close-ups, so audiences cannot sympathize with these trigger-happy desperados who had gunned down policemen without a qualm. "Young Guns" scenarist John Fusco has provided far more history about this pugnacious pair in this Netflix movie than its celebrated theatrical predecessor. Often, when we see Bonnie, we are given only glimpses of her feet encased in ruby red shoes. She walks with a limp that she acquired after Clyde drove off a bridge under construction when he missed a detour. This mishap injured Bonnie so severely that she resorted to laudanum, a concoction of opium and alcohol, to relieve the agony until she died in May 1934 in a hail of gunfire from two former Texas Rangers--Frank Hamer and Manny Gault--along with a posse in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. Throughout this chronicle of their pursuit, Hamer and Gault were amazed by the relative lack of height of the two criminals in comparison to the media attention that transformed them into titanic celebrities during what was termed 'the Public Enemy era' between 1931 and 1934. In the final scene, Hancock gives us a lingering glance of the two felons, looking like two clean-scrubbed, fashionably attired cherubs, with an arsenal of firearms at their fingertips.

As depicted in "The Highwaymen," the beginning of the end for the notorious duo started with a prison breakout that Bonnie & Clyde orchestrated to free accomplices from the Texas-based Eastham Prison Farm in 1934. Warden Lee Simmons (John Carroll Lynch of "Shutter Island") of the Texas Department of Corrections got the green light from Governor Miriam "Ma" Ferguson (Kathy Bates of "Primary Colors") to hire Hamer to stop the crime spree of these two twentysomething renegades. Privately, Ferguson had nothing but contempt for the Texas Rangers, recently disbanded under a cloud of corruption, and warned her own duly appointed constabulary that they would face repercussions if the two former Rangers nabbed Bonnie & Clyde. Frank Hamer (Kevin Costner of "Dances with Wolves") comes out of retirement and accepts Simmons' offer despite the misgivings of his socialite wife. Hamer chooses an old friend and former Texas Ranger Benjamin Maney Gault (Woody Harrelson of "Natural Born Killers") to accompany him. Neither Hamer nor Gault is in good enough shape to chase a teenager around the block near Bonnie's mother's house. Hamer hasn't fired his revolver in such a long time that he cannot obliterate bottles with bullets. While immaculately dressed officers of the state of Texas as well as the FBI rely on the latest modern crime-fighting technology to pursue the elusive Bonnie & Clyde, Hamer counts on his frontier savvy about human nature and maps charting the couple's whereabouts to ferret them out. Comparatively, this evokes memories of the turn-of-the-century John Wayne western "Big Jake" (1971) where Wayne tracked down the dastards who kidnapped his grandson, while law enforcement handicapped by modern technology could do little despite their apparent advantages over him. Ultimately, Hamer and Gault put everybody, including FBI with their aerial searches, to shame. Essentially, our heroes qualify as underdogs who manage to triumph despite incredible odds to stop the Barrow gang.

Mind you, "The Highwaymen" certainly isn't the most exciting manhunt melodrama. At times, the going is mighty slow because Hamer and Gault painstakingly gather clues and develop leads based on their bloodhound instincts. Although most of the action involves Hamer and Gault, they have few encounters with Bonnie & Clyde until the finale. The scene that highlights best what our heroes must contend with occurs when they tail Bonnie & Clyde out of a town and then lose them in the middle of nowhere. Clyde careens off the highway into a barren field and swerves in circles around Hamer and Gault. Clyde churns up a blinding dust storm and loses the two Texas Rangers. Eventually, after he learns that the felons are cruising off for 'greener pastures,' Hamer decides to pursue them into Louisiana where the authorities have issued no warrants for their arrest. During the manhunt, Gault agonizes about his ability to shoot a woman. Later, they learn Bonnie Parker has been as just as cold-blooded and homicidal as Clyde. This is a far cry from the vintage Warner Brothers movie. Hamer follows a lead involving one of Clyde's accomplices in Louisiana. He cuts a deal with the father of one of Clyde's cronies that culminates in the inevitable ambush of the twosome. The posse catch Bonnie & Clyde as they approach their accomplice's father who is seeking roadside assistance. Reportedly, in real life, the posse poured so many volleys of gunfire into the couple that the barrage deafened them.

Clocking in at two hours and twelve minutes, "The Highwaymen" aims for the older demographic that loved "Unforgiven." Nevertheless, it ranks far above anything that Costner has made in many moons. Costner and Harrelson lend their considerable gravitas to Hancock's authentic looking film. The $49-million production does a commendable job of recreating the utter despair and destitution suffered by too many people during the Great Depression. Some critics and historians have accused Hamer of overstepping his authority after he shadowed Bonnie & Clyde into Louisiana, and he could have taken them alive. Hancock and Fusco show that Hamer was prepared to do whatever was necessary to kill the couple. Despite its impressive adherence to history, "The Highwaymen" will always lay in the shadow of the Oscar-winning Warner Brothers' classic, but it does provide greater insight into Bonnie & Clyde.

FILM REVIEW OF "UNBREAKABLE" (2000)

Writer & director M. Night Shyamalan's fourth film "Unbreakable" refers to its protagonist, football stadium security guard David Dunn (Bruce Willis) who has been born with an almost perfect body because his bones cannot be broken. Far less introspective and surprising than the enigmatic "Sixth Sense," this atmospheric melodrama depicts the friendship between Dunn and an African-American, Elijah Price, nicknamed Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson), who suffers from an unusual bone disease designated 'Osteogenesis Imperfecta.' Basically, 'Osteogenesis Imperfecta' is a genetic disorder where bones break easily. In other words, Glass' surname reflects the extremely fragile nature of his body. The first scene in "Unbreakable" details the birth of Mr. Glass in a department store apparel fitting room.  One of the men who takes charge of the infant discovers to his horror that the little boy's arms and legs are misshapen from where he fought to get out of his mother's womb. Later, we learn that Mr. Glass has become obsessed with comic book superheroes.  Shrewdly, his mother (Charlayne Woodard of “The Crucible”) used comics to coax her son out of the seclusion of their apartment. Glass becomes a leading authority on comic books as well as the characteristics of super heroes and super villains. He represents a strong villain because he reckons if he occupies one end of the spectrum then an 'unbreakable' hero occupies the other end. In his fiendish efforts to find the other end of the spectrum, Mr. Glass commits incorrigible crimes which eventually land him in a mental asylum. For example, he engineers a train wreck where everybody on board dies, except for our protagonist David Dunn. 

Eventually, Mr. Glass catches up with David after his miraculous survival without a broken bone makes news’ headlines as the sole survivor of the deadly train wreck.  Moreover, he takes a bizarre interest in him that Dunn doesn't reciprocate.  Nevertheless, David’s curiosity prompts him to search for information about his health that he has taken for granted.  For example, he has never missed a day at work owing to illness.  Later, he realizes that he was never injured in an accident that broke his future wife’s leg.  After the wreck, David cites an injury that convinced him from pursuing a promising career in college football.  His wife, Audrey Dunn (Robin Wright of "Forrest Gump"), is relieved to learn David has decided to hang up his cleats.  Glass' inquiries arouses the curiosity of David's son Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark of "Gladiator") who loads up more free weights than David thinks possible to press and winds up impressing both of them.  David pushes 350 pounds!  Later, when Joseph is convinced that his father cannot be hurt by flying lead, a standoff occurs in the kitchen with Joseph threatening his dad with a revolver at point blank range. Of course, neither David nor his terrified wife Audrey believe that he is invincible where bullets are concerned, and they manage to persuade Joseph to put the pistol down.  Reportedly, when George Reeves portrayed the Man of Steel on the television program “Superman,” a child approached him with a gun during a public appearance and tried to shoot him, but Reeves talked him out of it.  He warned him that the bullet might ricochet off him and wound somebody else.

The $75-million "Unbreakable" boils down to your basic clash of the titans. Mr. Glass has spent his entire life searching for David. Initially, David refuses to believe anything about him made him special.  After the tragic train accident, David has second thoughts.  One scene demonstrates both of David's two usual capabilities. A maniac forces his way into a residential home, kills the husband, ties up the two children, assaults the wife, and leaves her tied up with bleeding wrists. Meantime, David has the power of insight that enables him to tell who constitutes a threat to the public. Glass is on hand at the football stadium when David displays this power.  Scrutinizing the spectators filing into the stadium, David points out a suspicious character wearing a cameo shirt.  Our protagonist suspects this fellow may be packing a pistol out-of-sight under his shirt. At the last minute, the suspicious fellow steps out of line.  Desperately Mr. Glass pursues him and falls down a stairway in his efforts to learn if he was toting a firearm which matched David's description. Indeed, this suspicious guy was carrying a concealed weapon!  Later, David spots a maintenance man.  They brush past each other, and David follows him to the house where the husband lies dead and the children are tied up.  David attacks the maintenance man and gets his arms around his neck.  The maniac slams David repeatedly against walls, smashing up those walls, but he cannot dislodge David who keeps him in a choke hold until the brute loses consciousness.  At first, David and his family didn’t trust Elijah, and they classified him as a nuisance. Their attitude changes, and the two become friends, until the final quarter of the action, when Elijah reveals his true colors, and David realizes that Elijah poses a threat.  He orchestrated three terrorist attacks in an effort to find the man at the other in of the spectrum.  Once, David recognizes Glass as a threat, he alerts the authorities. 

Clocking in at 106 minutes, “Unbreakable” seems to take forever to unfold.  The ending is a let-down because Glass and David never tangle, but the character-driven action is momentarily engrossing until it concludes with an anti-climactic situation. Bruce Willis delivers a beautifully restrained performance, and he behaves just as we suspect a normal person would.  The scene on the train before the accident is liable to draw the wrath of married women.  David removes his wedding ring and makes a play for a female passenger who sits beside him.  Samuel L. Jackson is just as good as Elijah but never really seems menacing enough.  Despite the strong character study of two rivals, “Unbreakable” is by its dreary pace and its anti-climactic ending.  

FILM REVIEW OF ''KIN" (2018)

Two heads are better than one, so the old adage goes.  Sadly, this doesn’t apply either to the Baker brothers or their directorial debut, “Kin” (1/2 OUT OF ****), that juggles a sci-fi thriller about a lost space gun, a dysfunctional family crisis with a juvenile-in-jeopardy, a cross-country chase, and a revenge melodrama.  Basically, Australian brothers Jonathan and Josh Baker developed “Kin” from their own fifteen-minute short “Bag Man” (2014).  In “Bag Man,” an African-American youngster stashes an exotic space carbine under his bed at home without informing his stern single mom.  Sneaking it out in a duffel bag for target practice, he winds up in a remote clearing, but rescues a man with a bag over his head from three murderous ruffians.  They were armed and abusive to the bag man and had bound his wrists behind his back.  At one point, one of the three wields a shovel and knocks the bag man off his knees onto his head.  The black kid disrupts their orgy of violence, and the shooting commences.  The bizarre alien weapon dissolves the three assailants into atoms when the kid lets them have it!  Lean, mean, and electrifying, “Bag Man” doesn’t squander a second.  Indeed, the Bakers left a lot to the imagination, but most people could probably fill in the gaps.  Not only did I enjoy “Bag Man” (*** OUT OF ****), but I could watch it again.  

Unfortunately, this doesn’t apply to “Kin.”  First, the Baker brothers bite off more than they can chew. Scenarist Daniel Casey of “The Passage” has helped to expand the plot far beyond “Bag Man” with too many stock characters.  Second, the only character who deserves our sympathy is gunned down too early.  Third, the rest of the characters—except for the African-American teen who salvaged the weapon—are worthless specimens of humanity with little dimension.  Fourth, the filmmakers could have told us a little about this otherworldly firearm and its apparently infinite ammo capacity.  We never learn if it contains a battery that keeps it charged up and ready to blast.  Fifth, the mysterious weapon that the youth found isn’t deployed until halfway through the road trip.  Furthermore, our juvenile protagonist doesn’t have a chance to display its heavy-duty firepower until an explosive finale in a besieged Nevada police station.

“Kin” opens in modern-day Detroit, where a strange firefight occurs in a derelict factory building.  As noisy as it sounds, this activity doesn’t attract the attention of the police.  Later, a 14-year old African-American, Eli Solinski (Myles Truitt of “Dragged Across Concrete”), who rides his bike around to these forsaken edifices, scours them for anything of value.  Although he is black, Eli is the adopted son of a hard-working contractor, Hal Solinski (Dennis Quaid of “The Long Riders”), but the Solinskis have fallen on hard times.  Hal’s wife has died, and his oldest biological son, Jimmy (Jack Reynor of “Free Fire”), has just been released from prison after a six-year sentence.  Hal and Jimmy don’t get along, but Hal is letting Jimmy sack out at the house until he can land a job.  When Jimmy asks his father for a job, but Hal refuses to hire him because he is an ex-con.  Jimmy looks up an old friend, Taylor Balik (James Franco of “Future World”), who deals in contraband firearms, and reassures him, he hasn’t forgotten about the $60-thousand that he owes him.  Taylor demands his dough pronto, and he lacks patience.  Jimmy approaches Hal about a loan, but Hal rules it out, too.  One evening, when Hal returns to his office with Eli riding with him, he confronts Jimmy, Taylor, and Taylor’s brother.  They have broken into his office and are ransacking his safe.  Hal brandishes a crowbar, and a deadly fight ensues.  Hal dies from a gunshot wound, but Taylor’s brother bites the dust, too.  Managing to escape, Jimmy flees in Hal’s truck with Eli.  Repeatedly, Jimmy concocts one lie after another to dupe Eli into believing that Hal has dispatched them off on a cross-country trip to Lake Tahoe where they will all reunite.  Eli packs a few things, including the duffel bag with the futuristic weapon.

Earlier, while combing through a deserted factory building, Eli discovers two space soldiers in a sinister black outfits.  One of them had lost his head during the firefight.  Eli handles a strange-looking weapon that resembles a high-tech military assault rifle.  When he is toying with the weapon, he activates it, and a laser sighting system illuminates the weapon with several gauges and numbers.  Eli says nothing about his discovery.  Later, Hal learns about Eli’s behavior troubles and school suspension.  Later, he chews him out for stealing things from deserted buildings.  All of this leads up to Hal taking Eli along with him to his office where he discovers Jimmy and Taylor ransacking the company safe.  Meanwhile, a vindictive, grief-stricken Taylor loads up an arsenal of firepower along with his homicidal henchmen, and they pursue Jimmy and Eli.  Later, two space soldiers materialize out of nowhere in the building where the gun was lost.  They activate a locator device to track the weapon.  Essentially, it’s road trip time, and everybody is lined-up in hot pursuit of our heroes.

Whereas “Bag Man” delivers simple and straightforward action, “Kin” struggles with too many characters and too many clichés.  The Bakers provide little background about the aliens, who appeared after the loss of the weapon and then reappeared for the lively finale.  The last-minute revelation not only about the weapon, but also Eli’s identity seems like a last-minute addition to generate a sequel.  During the final scene, when the aliens expose their humanoid faces, actor & producer Michael B. Jordan of “Black Panther” fame makes a cameo appearance as one.  Ultimately, “Kin” amounts to little more than a remake of the cheapjack 1978 sci-fi thriller “Laserblast” about a youth on a rampage with an alien weapon.

FILM REVIEW OF ''OCEAN'S EIGHT" (2018)

A glossy, polished, female revenge fantasy, crime caper, Gary Ross's "Ocean's Eight," (*** OUT OF ****) starring Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, and Rihanna, amounts to the gender flip-side of Steven Soderbergh's male-oriented heist trilogy "Ocean's Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen." Comparably, "Ocean's Eight" follows on the high heels of 2016's "Ghostbusters," with Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, and Leslie Jones, that gave gals the starring roles in the remake of the 1984 Bill Murray classic. Predictably, "Ocean's Eight" shares some similarities with Soderbergh's extravagant, predictable, and often madcap epics. "Ocean's Eight," however, isn't as hopelessly fanciful as Soderbergh's "Oceans," but it unfolds in the same land of imaginary Hollywood realism. As Danny Ocean's younger sister Debbie, Sandra Bullock is fashionably appareled throughout this sumptuous PG-13 saga as are her comely conspirators. Like brother Danny, Debbie recruits top-flight talent. If you're afraid the authorities may nab and pack them off to prison, banish that thought. The police are virtually invisible in this elaborate 'mission impossible' theft. Indeed, our heroine flies so low beneath her parole officer's radar that we never see either him or her surprise our heroine with an unscheduled inspection. Make no mistake, "Hunger Games" helmer Gary Ross has made a palatable, attractive, and mildly suspenseful thriller that will probably hold your attention throughout its 11o-minute running time. The flaw in this sophisticated heist caper is our dames walk away without a hair out of place. Inevitably, they encounter some complications in "Ocean's Eight," but they never resort to physical violence. Furthermore, nobody either catches a bullet or dies.



Like the "Ocean's Eleven" (2001) remake, "Ocean's Eight" opens with a contrite Debbie reassuring the authorities at Nichols Women's Prison in New Jersey that she will avoid contact with all former criminal accomplices and family if she gets paroled. "If I were to be released," she sighs, "I would just want the simple life. I just want to hold down a job, make some friends, you know, pay my bills." No sooner has Debbie stepped out of stir than she steals everything in sight that she needs to wallow in the lap of luxury at a swanky motel during her first night out of prison. If you remember "Ocean's Eleven," Danny told his jailors the exact same lies. Debbie's brazen scam at the perfume counter later seems amateurish, but the movie makes it appear smoothly plausible. Meanwhile, she learns that her estranged brother, Danny Ocean, has died. For the record, George Clooney played Danny Ocean in Soderbergh's "Oceans" trilogy. Specifics are never revealed about Danny's demise. Nevertheless, Debbie visits the mausoleum where her older brother has been buried to pay her respects. She toasts Danny's passage with a martini but doesn't shed a tear. Conveniently, one of Danny's closest associates, Reuben Tishkoff (Elliot Gould of "MASH"), shows up on behalf of the fellows but fails to persuade Debbie to cease and desist. Is Danny really dead or is he in hiding? Knowing Danny, Danny is probably holed up someplace. More importantly, this bombshell revelation means no "Oceans 14!" Reportedly, Soderbergh has said in public that he has no plans for another "Ocean's" escapade.



In "Ocean's Eight," Debbie has engineered the whole shebang down to the smallest detail. All of her accomplices will walk away with cool double-digit millions and never have to ever commit another crime. Debbie has no problem recruiting her former partner-in-crime, Lou (Cate Blanchett of "Thor: Ragnarok"), to join her and outlines her audacious plan to rob 'the most exclusive party in America,' the Metropolitan Museum of Art's annual Gala, in New York City. Like Danny, Debbie assembles an A-Team of experts from every field to execute her fool-proof plan. Reluctantly, Lou accommodates Debbie. Together, they enlist an out-of-fashion, fashion designer, Rose Weil (Helena Bonham Carter of "); an Indian jewelry-maker Amita (Mindy Kaling of "A Wrinkle in Time"), an African-American computer hacker, Nine Ball (Rihanna of "Battleship"); a white suburban housewife fence, Tammy (Sarah Paulson of "Serenity"); and an Asian-American pickpocket, Constance (Awkwafina of "Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising"), to pull off this crime of the century. When Amita asks Debbie how long the latter took to concoct her bold scheme, Debbie replies specifically "five years, eight months, and twelve days." As it turns out, this is the length of time that Debbie spent in prison for a crime she didn't commit, all owing to a treacherous art dealer, Claude Becker (Richard Armitage of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"), who double-crossed and framed her. Not only does Debbie savor the prospect of exacting vengeance on Becker, but she also tells her cohorts they are committing this grand crime for all those little girls aspiring to be career criminals.



Principally, Debbie and her partners dupe an arrogant but glamorous movie starlet, Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway of "Love & Other Drugs"), into serving as their innocent accomplice. They hoodwink Kluger into hiring Rose Weil to dress her for the gala. Rose insists Daphne wear the legendary Toussaint, a world-renowned, six-pound, Cartier diamond necklace that has been locked up in an underground vault for the last fifty years. Initially, the Cartier people refuse to let the Toussaint, a bauble valued at $150 million, see the light of day. Reluctantly, they agree, and two seasoned security experts safeguard the necklace. Meanwhile, Tammy infiltrates the company coordinating the gala and works from within, acquiring all kinds of invaluable information. Nine Ball hacks into the security system to pinpoint the arrangement of all surveillance cameras. Inevitably, Debbie and company must separate Daphne from the Toussaint. This sequence with poor Daphne crouched over a toilet hurling her guts out is simply sidesplitting. Although he doesn't drum up white-knuckled, nail-biting suspense designed to keep you teetering on the edge of your seat, director Gary Ross never lets the momentum lag for a moment with a charismatic cast and splendid cinematography. An ideal gals' night out opus, "Ocean's Eight" qualifies as above-average with its cornucopia of humor compensating for its conspicuous scarcity of suspense.